First to go
by NessL
Summary: After her victory against the Others, taking Kings Landing should have been easy for Daenerys. She had not expected her concilors' betrayal nor how deep Cersei's and her own father's madness ran and what should have been a formality turned out to be a disaster. Your worst enemy is not always who you think it is. An alternative ending to the Battle of the Bells and season 8.
1. Loose end

This story was first published on AO3 before the end of season 8, so it doesn't follow the show.

As this is my first story and English is not my mother tongue, please be kind in your comments. Huge thanks to Camille who betaed this chapter!

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**First to go**

Chapter1 : loose end

Varys hurried through the last corridor before entering the throne room. Despite his hurry, he noted at once he was the last to arrive. The hall was full as all the Northern lords who had come South with Daenerys were already in attendance. Their eyes followed his footsteps as he came bowing before the queen.

Jon Snow was standing on her right side while Grey Worm was on her left, enhancing the current disfavor of the Hand of the Queen. Tyrion was placed behind them and was thus hardly visible. Daenerys herself was sitting on the throne carved in the dragonglass, dressed in a pure white gown with silvery dragons embroidered on her long sleeves. Even though she was not wearing a crown, an aura of power and control exuded from her as she was impassively contemplating him. _As beautiful as she is dangerous_, Varys thought.

"You called me for an urgent matter, My Queen and I came as soon as I could," the Spider said slightly out of breath. "How may I be of service?"

He felt uncomfortable at the thought he had been the last to be informed of this meeting. As Master of Whispers, he should have been told before anyone else. The only explication that none of his little birds had been able to warn him in advance was that the queen herself must have ordered the meeting unexpectedly.

Varys glanced around him. None of the faces present gave him any indication as to why they had been thus summoned. He would have bet that they didn't know either._ Too impulsive, too unpredictable_, Varys added in his mind.

"I have been thinking about something for quite some time," the queen then said. "I've tried to find a satisfactory answer to my problem, but so far to no avail, so I would like to know your thoughts on the matter."

"Certainly, You Grace. What is it that bothers you?" Varys inquired, wondering what could possibly be important enough to be discussed in front of all this assembly and not have been done sooner.

"Did you never find it strange, Lord Varys, how well informed my enemies always seem to be?" Daenerys asked him. "Since I have come to Westeros, I have suffered losses upon losses while my enemies always knew where to find my armies."

The room grew silent. All the lords shifted their attention from the queen to Varys and then back. With this line of questioning, she had managed to attract everyone's interest.

"It is true that our enemies have been able to guess some of our moves with troubling accuracy," the Spider began. "It is my belief that this must be bad luck, Your Grace. Our enemies may have been so successful in their guesses because your Hand happened to be the brother of the commander of the Lannister's armies. Who knows if Ser Jaime did not foresee some of our plans because he is familiar with Lord Tyrion's mind and logic?" he said, throwing a brief glance in the dwarf's direction. Tyrion glowered at him in response behind Jon Snow's back.

"So you would blame our troubles on bad luck and bold guesses?" the queen asked evenly. "Had this happened only once, I might have agreed with you," she continued. "But for it to happen each and every time I made a move? Too many of my plans have been spoiled for it to be caused only by misfortune, Lord Varys. As Master of Whispers, isn't it your duty to have a better explanation than this?"

Following this statement, the silence seemed to stretch. Varys looked a little bit paler.

"Unfortunately, I do not think I have a better explication, Your Grace. I truly believe Ser Jaime's knowledge of his brother to be the most likely explanation."

The Spider seemed to waver as if he was unsure of himself. "Unless you want to consider another possibility", he added at last with feigned reluctance. "One that I do not believe to be very likely, which is why I did not mention it before but it might explain our misfortune."

"And what would that be, Lord Varys? I find myself quite intrigued by this new possibility you have just evoked." Daenerys said.

"My Queen, this other possibility... Of course, you must understand it is only a hypothesis. It would also come to the choice you made when you appointed Tyrion Lannister as your Hand. Our losses might be explained by his reluctance to fight what is left of his family at the best of his abilities."

Varys made another brief pause before continuing once he was certain he had everyone's attention. "After all, trying to kill your own siblings must not be so easy to do... " Varys learned a long time ago that the best lies must always have a bit of truth in them.

Daenerys did not look satisfied with his answer though. _Not pliable enough_, Varys concluded.

"Now, would you really put the blame on my own Hand? My enemies act as if they know what my plans are and where to find my armies. This can't be explained by a lack of commitment, Lord Varys. This is _treason_. I have suspected it for quite some time now and the last attack confirmed it. Someone has been betraying me and selling all my secrets to Cersei Lannister."

The tension in the room grew. One could heard whispers from the assembly following this statement; Varys tried to shut them out to force his mind to focus.

"I have yet to find someone in our rank with a suspicious behavior that would explain a treason of such an importance, My Queen. My latest reports confirmed our men and allies are quite loyal to your cause. We all want Cersei Lannister gone and you are our best hope to achieve this, but I can make further inquiries about potential suspects if it can ease your... "

"That won't be necessary" the queen interrupted him curtly. "You will be pleased to know that I have already found the culprit. As I grew wary of treason and you did not seem capable to put an end to it, I took some measures myself. I recently ordered all ravens leaving Dragonstone for Kings Landing to be shot down and their messages brought to me."

Daenerys produced a yellowish piece of paper and showed it to Varys' nose. "You certainly recognize your own handwriting, Lord Varys? Do I also need to remind you of the contents of this message?"

Varys could feel a cold sweat forming on his brow.

Daenerys turned toward Jon Snow as if about to ask for his support before she continued. "This raven was destined to our enemies, My Lords" she said in a clear voice. "Written by Varys' own treacherous hand. It says to expect us in three days at sunrise. Following this, it gives a short description of our battle plan."

At the queen's words, loud exclamations erupted from the assembly. All remaining color left Varys' face. For a man usually so stoic, he could no longer conceal the slight tremor in his hands even as they were half-hidden in the ample sleeves of his clothes.

"Treason!" someone bellowed behind him.

"My Queen..." Varys began but the queen silenced him with a curt motion of her hand before nodding in Grey Worm's direction.

The Unsullied stepped forward.

"Take this traitor to a cell and interrogate him" she told her commander. "Make sure he talks. I want to know the extent of his betrayal, what else he divulged to our enemies, what he knows about our foes. This might help us in the upcoming fight." Then, she turned toward Varys to give him the coldest look she could summon. "And after that, Lord Varys, I shall keep my promise to you. "

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Next chapter: the battle for Kings Landing. They have a good plan to take the capital with a minimum of casualties or so they think.

However, letting a grieving girl with an unstable mind plays with a weapon of mass destruction might not be the brightest idea ever as the unfortunate people of Kings Landing will discover.


	2. Your worst enemy

This chapter was also betaed by Camille. She did an amazing job and I would like to thank her a lot for it!

However, she won't have the time to help me next month, so if anyone is interested, let me know it. Next chapter will be published when it can be corrected.

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The night they chose for the attack was dark and cloudless, the moon not yet visible. It should not rise for many more hours and if luck was on their side, the city would have fallen by then.

The darkness would be as much an advantage as a disadvantage during the battle. On the one hand, it would conceal Drogon and protect him from the deadly bolts of the scorpions and the sleeping city would be taken by surprise. On the other hand, fighting in the dark would be much more difficult for those who were on the ground.

From above, Kings Landing looked peaceful. Most of the capital was hidden in the obscurity though some parts stood out like the rampart, which was easy to discern as it was encircling the gargantuan city in a ring of fire. Daenerys gazed at the sight below from Drogon's back to commit the different areas to memory. Before long, she found herself drawn by the sight of the Red Keep, standing tall and proud on Aegon Hill, a brazier at one of its highest points tearing the sky in two. Through their bond, she could feel the dragon's restlessness matching hers.

_Soon, my love, very soon._

The city was quiet; it was a good omen. Daenerys would have to thanks Varys for his last contribution to her conquest before executing him. Cersei must have assumed the assault would take place in three days time at sunrise as was stated in the raven written by Varys she had received. She had no reason to believe the attack would instead happen this very night under the cover of darkness.

When the queen believed that enough time had passed – for time is difficult to judge when mounted on the back of a dragon – she lead Drogon toward the Gate of the Gods. After so long, so much efforts and so much losses, the very thing she had coveted for years was within grasp. As well as revenge.

Drogon dove suddenly, falling through the sky the way a bird of prey would. The icy wind whipped at Daenerys' face and she gripped the dragon's scales tighter, not seeing well where they were going although the darkness did not seem to bother the dragon. Soon the Gate of the Gods appeared in front of them like a beacon in the dark. They soared toward their target at full speed as if they intended to crash into the massive gate. At the last moment, Drogon expanded his wings to slow their flight, opened his mouth and breathed the most powerful blast of fire he could conjure. The whole gate was blown away under the force of the impact, leaving a gaping wound in the fortification. Daenerys did not linger to admire her work; she brought Drogon back into the sky at once, high and safe from harm. By the time the guards on duty understood what had just happened, they were long gone.

_I won't let __any __harm come to you __too__. I have already paid the highest price._

Drogon let out a powerful roar in response.

The bells of the Red Keep began to toll, soon followed by the others bells of Kings Landing. _We're under attack, attack, attack _the bells were all ringing. The sleeping city would wake up to find itself under fire, yet by the time any efficient defense could take place it would be too late. The Dragon Queen could picture her Dothrakis on their way to the Red Keep, galloping in the deserted and dimly lit streets.

Driven by her success, she turned Drogon toward the Red Keep to destroy the main gate of the fortress in the same way. Neither the gate nor the garrison posted around offered them any resistance, not that she had expected any.

She had done her part of the work. The path was clear for the troops on the ground. It was as much a success as they had predicted it would be and she had tipped the scale in their favor. Daenerys could turn Drogon around and wait for the Red Keep to surrender once her armies would reach it.

Or she could stay and get her revenge _now_. Make _her_ pay. Make her burn. Make her feel some of the pain she had caused.

For a short while, the queen was no longer in the air but back in front of Kings Landing the day she had tried to negociate with the Lannister woman. All that Daenerys could remember of this day was her absolute helplessness and the pure, terrible rage that had consumed her at the sight of Missandei's broken body.

Cersei had been standing on the rampart above her, in a dominant position. Daenerys had been too far away to catch the woman's expression, but the Dragon Queen would have bet Cersei was smiling as she had looked down at her and the human lump on the ground that had been Daenerys' closest confident. Her sweet Missandei had been very dear to her and the damned woman knew it.

How she had wished she could call for Drogon right then and there to burn them all in her anger, that woman, the guards and the whole city with them to make them feel the extent of her wrath. It would have been utter madness at that time though. There were many archers on the wall ready to rain down fire on them, two ballistae aimed their way; they would have died before they could reach Cersei. Even though she had a dragon – the only living dragon left in the world and the greatest weapon one could imagine – Daenerys had been unable to stop the woman.

No scorpion would touch her tonight though. In the dark sky, no one could see her mounted on her great black son.

Daenerys lowered her gaze. The Red Keep was just below. At this late hour, Cersei must be resting inside the royal chamber, just within reach. Despite the many crimes she had committed, the woman was still enjoying a position she did not deserve in a castle that was not hers but Daenerys'. The thought was so maddening that the Dragon Queen felt her long repressed anger coming back to life, thirsty for more fire and blood.

She had locked away in a part of her mind all the terrible things she had to endure in her short life; her fleeing childhood, always looking over her shoulder for assassins, her brother's abuse, her husband's and her son's deaths, the loss of Viserion and Rhaegal, Jorah, Missandei... She had locked away her grief to forget it, because she would never have been able to go on otherwise. She never acknowledged what she had to go through, but the darkness was still there. It had grown like an untreated wound, festering upon years and years of pain, misery and frustration. For once, all these feelings wanted out and she just had the right target to unleash them.

So instead of turning back to wait for the outcome as was part of the plan, Daenerys urged Drogon back toward the castle.

"Dracarys!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as soon as the Red Keep was within reach.

The area including the royal chambers took fire at once. Drogon's breath was so hot it nearly melted the stones, sending a huge amount of burning debris to the ground in their wake. The dragon circled round the castle before coming back to attack it, again and again. Under his relentless assaults, many portions of the keep were soon burning brightly in the night.

Daenerys could feel her heart beat wildly and the adrenaline rush through her veins, making her feel alive as she had never felt before. She could imagine Cersei screaming, her sneering face twisted in agony as she was slowly roasted alive and it felt so good_._ Any common sense was lost to the wind with such feelings; revenge was not just satisfying, it felt glorious.

As they were flying low over the courtyard, the queen saw many human shapes illuminated by the fires. It looked like the courtyard was brimming with people running toward the destroyed gate in an attempt to escape the carnage. Daenerys did not pay them any attention, she had a better target in mind than a crowd of refugies.

At this moment, a huge arrow whizzed past Drogon. In the semi-darkness, it missed him by a few inches, but they may not be so lucky next time. As Daenerys could not see where the bolt had been shot from, she let Drogon take the lead to hunt down those responsible.

Drogon renewed his attacks with an increased fury, destroying anything that could hide one of those deadly weapons. The bell tower was the first to fall, toppling to the ground with a hiss under the dragon's onslaught. It crashed into the courtyard and shattered in a thousand pieces. Daenerys did not even find the will to care for the crowd below so intent she was on destroying her worst enemy.

Before long the Red Keep looked more like a pile of fiery rubble than an actual fortress. The proud castle was either engulfed in the flames or falling to the ground. The dragon would have gone on like this until it was entirely razed had nothing stopped him.

Without warning, Drogon let out an a horrible screech of agony; a massive arrow had hit him. A chorus of cheers erupted from below as the dragon faltered in the air. For a terrifying moment, Daenerys thought they would fall to their death like Viserion and Rhaegal before them, but her son managed to right himself before hitting the ground.

A terrible resentment took hold of the queen's heart. The people of Kings Landing, _her_ people, were happy to see her and her dragon fall to their deaths instead of rebelling against Cersei's illegitimate rule. Could they not see that she was doing this for them? To free them from a tyrant who cared nothing for them?

However while Daenerys was distracted by these bitter thoughts, Drogon decided to act on his own. The dragon, even if he allowed a human to ride him, was not truly tamed. At heart, he was still a wild animal, one that made no difference between foes or allies, soldiers or smallfolk.

Despite his injury, the dragon dove toward the people below and began to set them aflame, turning their cries of joy to screams of panic. Daenerys tried to deter him but to no avail.

_Come my sweet, we must go away. I can remove the bolt. Let me help you._

Right now, the last thing Drogon wanted was to listen to reason. The rush of the attack combined with the pain he was in had made his blood boil. There were still some ants left running below. _Preys_, his mind whispered in Daenerys' through their bond, _the same kind that hurt us_. The black beast opened his large mouth. Several long jets of fire erupted from it to engulf the last souls that were unfortunate to remain in the courtyard. Their burned husks fell silently on the cobblestones like they were made of sand.

Only then and with great efforts did Daenerys manage to convince him to turn around and leave. Drogon beat his wings and soon they were once more high in the air, safe from the ballistae scattered across the capital.

She urged Drogon East toward a promontory just outside of the city wall. They flew past the fortification and landed on a clearing not far from its highest point. The arrival turned out to be rougher than expected as one of Drogon's legs gave away under his weight. He whined in pain.

Daenerys could still see the Red Keep from there – or rather what was left of it – burning bright in the night. In contrast, this place was pitch black and utterly quiet, save for the dragon's panting.

Daenerys struggled to descend from her mount as her eyes were not yet accustomed to such darkness. The soil felt damp and soft under her feet once she jumped from Drogon's back. Tentatively, she search for her son's wound in the dark by caressing his side softly; a rasp escaped the dragon's mouth as her fingers found an arrow embedded between his scales. Though painful, the injury did not seem to be lethal.

Hot blood oozed from the wound and fell on her hands while she was laboring to remove the bolt. The thing was struck between two scales and would not come out. She used her last remaining forces to make it budge, her two feet on the dragon and her body as taut as a bow. Drogon hissed in pain as the bolt came loose at last. She threw the arrow onto the ground.

"Yes!" she screamed in victory to no one in particular. "Finally!"

She petted Drogon's nose.

"We won! The Lannister bitch's dead! You did well, my love."

The queen began to laugh out loud, savoring her final triumph. She could still feel the glorious euphoria she had experienced during the attack, the rush of adrenaline in her veins, the incredible feeling of power.

At this precise instant, an extraordinary phenomenon occurred. The soil began to tremble under her feet while at the same time the clearing became nearly as bright as it would be during daytime. Now, Daenerys could see the dark greenish blood staining her hands, though the blood of the dragon was not the only thing that had a unusual hue. The sky was also filled with green-yellow lights, which seemed to come from the West, where Kings Landing stood.

She moved away from her son to gaze at the city. Where the ruins of Red Keep should be standing, an enormous ball of green fire was slowly rising in the sky, illuminating the entire city. So bright was its intensity that it look like another sun had risen.

It was as beautiful a sight as it was terrifying. Up to a quarter of the city was wrapped in this incandescent haze and all of Aegon High Hill had been blown away. The ashes in the air were all that was left of the Red Keep and of the entire hill. The wind was twisting the dust, creating greenish patterns that were blowing like leaves in the sky.

Meanwhile, the ocean nearby also grew agitated, the sea retreating very far away to leave the bay dry for a short while. Soon, a huge wave came back, crashing and engulfing in its wake all the ships that had been anchored near the harbor.

Then, the deafening sound of the blast came to the queen's ears, along with a strong wind carrying a heavy smell of burned meat. The stench turned Daenerys' stomach. She leant on Drogon for support and retched even though she had nothing left but her body fluids to expel. Any sense of elation she had been experiencing before evaporated as quickly as a summer snow. In its place, dread settled in her stomach, soon followed by horror as another realization hit her.

In her hurry to leave Kings Landing, she had completely forgotten to check on her armies. She had no way of knowing where they were when the Red Keep was blown up. For all she knew, they had already reached the fortress by that time.

And Jon was leading them.

_Oh, gods, _she thought weakly,  
_what I have done?_

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There is something hidden in this chapter. It's related to a prophecy, can you see it?

Let's see if you are more attentive than the readers on AO3... (although it's more obvious in this version). If you don't, you will have to wait for many chapters to learn what it is...

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Next chapter: the queen gets a very unpleasant surprise while Varys gets himself a friend.


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